One of the things that makes Japanese food culture so interesting is that unless you're eating grilled or simmered seafood, it probably originated outside of Japan. Tempura (Portuguese), Ramen (Chinese), and Karei Raisu (Indian) are just a few examples of borrowed food. For such a tradition oriented country, it amazes me how quickly they assimilate food into the national repertoire. As food migrates there, it undergoes a transformation and takes on a new life as a different dish unto itself. Purists may argue it's not authentic, but I call it the journey of food.
Baked goods, with the exception of Casutela (of Portuguese origin), come almost exclusively from France. Heck, the Japanese word for bread is "pahn" ("pain" spelled in French). Shoe Kureamu (Choux à la Crème), Kuroasan (Croissant), and Monburan (Mont Blanc) are all staples of any Japanese bakery and Kureipu (Crêpe) is a common snack on the streets of Tokyo; and if you can get past the ridiculous spelling, they're all good. Kureipu for example aren't soft and tender like a proper French one; they're sweet and crisp, shaped like a cone and filled with fruit, cream, chocolate and even cheesecake.
But this post is about Mont Blanc. No, not the tall mountain in the Alps. I'm talking about the cake. Well, actually the original is made with meringues, but like all the other dishes, this too went through some changes. While each bakery makes it slightly differently, at its heart, Monburan is a soft layer of cake with a pillowy mound of chestnut cream, all topped with strands of sweet nutty chestnut puree. It's creamy, sweet and earthy with 3 different textures in each bite. Hands down my favourite cake.
I think I've mentioned before that I'm not much of a baker, and there's a good reason for that. I hate measuring things, I'm impatient, and I like to take shortcuts. That's a classic recipe for disaster in the realm of baking, but for this cake, I made an exception. Since I've never actually made a genoise before (and have heard horror stories akin to those told about souffles), I followed Tartelette's recipe to the letter for the cake. This was also the first time I've picked up a pastry bag since I was 10 or 11, so apologies for the shameful piping, but they taste just like the ones you'd get in a depachika bakery.
I know passing something as viscous as chestnut puree through a double mesh strainer sounds like a real pain (believe me it is), but don't skip this, and don't substitute a single mesh strainer or food mill. To get the smooth velvety consistency, it has to be passed through a very fine mesh. I found that working with small amounts and using the blade of a rubber spatula (with the handle removed) to force it through worked the best.
special equipments:
pastry bag medium round tip and a large round tip
jellyroll pan (18" X 13")
double mesh strainer (very small holes)
food processor
stand mixer
📖 Recipe
Units
Ingredients
for genoise (from Tartelette)
- 3 large eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup evaporated cane sugar
- pinch salt
- ½ cup cake flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
for chestnut puree
- 425 grams unsweetened chestnut puree
- ½ cup cream
- ½ cup evaporated cane sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 vanilla bean
for chestnut cream
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup chestnut puree (recipe above)
Instructions
Make the Genoise
- Setup a double boiler by filling a pot large enough to hold your mixing bowl and bring the water to a simmer. Move your oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 400 degrees F. Prep an 18" x 13" jelly roll pan by lining it with parchment paper and buttering the paper.
- Put the eggs, yolks, sugar and salt in a metal mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Put the bowl in your double boiler and whisk, heating until the mixture reaches 100 degrees F (luke warm). Mount the bowl on the mixer and beat with the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. The volume will triple and pale yellow ribbons of egg will flow off the whisk when they're ready.
- Combine the flour and cornstarch. When the egg mixture is ready, sift ⅓ of the flour mixture into the eggs and fold together. Repeat twice more, folding between each addition until you can't see any more clumps of flour. Pour into the prepared baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
- When it's done, slide the whole thing off the baking sheet onto a wire rack to cool.
Make the chestnut puree
- Slice the vanilla bean in half length wise and scrape the seeds into a small saucepan. Add the cream, sugar and whisk in the yolk. Heat over low heat, continually stirring until the mixture begins to thicken. Take the pan off the heat and allow the vanilla bean to steep while the mixture cools.
- When the mixture is cool, put it in a food processor along with the pureed chestnuts. Blitz until smooth and creamy. Put a spoonful of chestnut puree in the double mesh strainer over a bowl and press through using a spatula. Strain the rest of the chestnut puree, cover and set aside.
Make Chestnut Cream
- In the clean dry bowl of an electric mixer, add ¾ C of heavy cream. Using the whisk attachment, beat until the cream holds soft peaks. Add the sugar and beat until the sugar is incorporated. Add ⅓ C of the strained chestnut puree and mix until the cream holds firm peaks being careful not to over mix.
Assemble the Mont Blanc
- When it's completely cooled, separate the cake from the parchment paper and trim off the edges. Cut out eight 2" x 1.5" rectangles and put them on a platter.
- Put a large round tip on a pastry bag and fill with the chestnut cream (not the puree). Pipe 3 layers of cream onto each piece of genoise, making each layer smaller, giving it the shape of a barn roof.
- Put a medium round tip (about the size of cooked spaghetti) on another pastry bag and fill with the chestnut puree. Starting at the bottom corner of one of the cakes and pipe chestnut puree in one continuous stream going over the top, down the other side, then looping back up and over again. Ideally you'll cover the whole thing with one continuous stream of puree, but if it breaks, just start back from where it broke and continue piping.
Karen says
Can I subsitute store bought unsweetened chestnut puree (Clement Faugier ) & sweetened chestnut cream (Clement Augier-Creme de Marrons de L'Ardeche) for this? Thanks
Marc says
Hi Karen, I haven't tried it with that brand, but it should work. If you give it a go I'd love to hear how it works!
Bonnie says
Just wondering…
Did you give it a try?
Amie Cuhaciyan says
Can I use your recipe to put in a website I am designing for class project. I have to do something with interconnected steps. I love this cake and I think it would fit into the perimeters of the project.
Ginger says
Sooo happy to have found this! This brought back precious memories. My grandfather who lived in Switzerland let me sample this about 50 years ago. It was to die for, and I haven't found a recipe until I came upon your blog. Wonderful!
tara-chan says
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! This is my husbands favourite dessert, and I promised both him and myself I'd learn how to make it 🙂 I'm so happy to find it in English. I can't wait to read more on your blog!
Tomoyo Hibiki says
I really love your blog. It satisfies my love for everything Japanese. 🙂
Marc Matsumoto says
You could try simmering them in a sugar syrup, but I've never really worked with raw chestnuts that have already been peeled.
Marilia says
Hi Marc! I have raw, peeled chestnuts. Do you have any tips or ideas on how to cook them in order to use them for this recipe?
Marc Matsumoto says
It's not ideal, but it's fine.
lovelette says
hi, is it okay to use vanilla extract rather than vanilla beans?
Marc Matsumoto says
Part of the chestnut puree is used to make the chestnut cream, so you only need to strain the puree once.
Joy Yokoy says
Marc! For both the chestnut cream and chestnut purée do I strain the puréed chestnuts??
Marc Matsumoto says
You're welcome:-)
SimplyBakes says
I love mont blanc toO! Actually all things Japanese haha:) I love your blog, thank you so much:D
Marc Matsumoto says
It obviously won't be the same, but hey why not? I sometimes use Sara Lee frozen pound cake for the base when I'm pressed for time.
sorewolfy says
would it be okay if i used these sponge cake rounds from frys marketplase instead of the genoise? i didnt do to well at making it was to hard and ive not really been the best at baking i was able the ghet the cream and puree right though
Marc Matsumoto says
It's important to sift it, not only to get rid of any clumps and to help it incorporate evenly without mixing it very much. If the cake was tough, it might have been from overmixing. While cake flour has a lower gluten content than all-purpose flour, it still contains gluten, which forms chains and gets rubbery when you add flour to a liquid and stir it. The key is to gently fold the flour into the batter until it's just combined. This video is showing egg whites instead of flour, but it demonstrates the folding technique (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP4vbktd-PM).
passerby says
hmmm. maybe thats the problem.. i didn't sift it. but then it came out without the clumps. however the genoise was very hard. is that the texture? or did i overbeat/underbeat?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Passeby, did you sift the flour and cornstarch? If you used a Kitchenaid, I've noticed that the little donut shaped divit at the bottom tends to trap flour so you have to be extra careful to scrape to the bottom when you're folding the flour in.
Passeby says
the genoise batter turned out too thick and had lots of large clumps
Bioslaya says
Thanks for the recipe for the chestnut mixtures, other recipes around specifies for chestnut cream, chestnut puree and chestnut paste. Making me wonder, what's the diff? Mont Blanc is not big in Australia, but our chestnut season is starting this week, so I'm keen to try my hand at it. Thank you!!
Bioslaya says
Thanks for the recipe for the chestnut mixtures, other recipes around specifies for chestnut cream, chestnut puree and chestnut paste. Making me wonder, what's the diff? Mont Blanc is not big in Australia, but our chestnut season is starting this week, so I'm keen to try my hand at it. Thank you!!
Marc Matsumoto says
It's an abbreviation for cup (a us measure equivalent to 237 mililiters)
passerby says
hi,
what do the Cs mean?
Marc Matsumoto says
Great idea, in Japan every bakery has their own twist on Mont Blac so there's really no right and wrong:-)
Keoki Sing says
Would ladyfingers be a good substitute for genoise? I read they are similar? I was thinking of sandwiching the cream between ladyfingers and adding the puree to the top for a sort of eclair type Monte BIanc. I am trying to make this with as little effort as I can (aka. being lazy!!)
Keoki Sing says
Would ladyfingers be a good substitute for genoise? I read they are similar? I was thinking of sandwiching the cream between ladyfingers and adding the puree to the top for a sort of eclair type Monte BIanc. I am trying to make this with as little effort as I can (aka. being lazy!!)
Marc Matsumoto says
Yep, heavy cream.
Pris says
Hi can I know what kind of Cream do you use for the chestnut puree ingredients? Is it also heavy cream? Thank you.
Pris says
Hi can I know what kind of Cream do you use for the chestnut puree ingredients? Is it also heavy cream? Thank you.
Marc Matsumoto says
Baumkuchen is awesome, but you can't get the shape unless you happen to have
a rotisserie.
mari says
Another exception to the Japanese-baked-goods-are-solely-from-France is bamkuchen (German origin), my favorite "borrowed" dessert. I'd love love love to learn how to make it!
Nipponnin says
Mmmmm. I love Mont Blanc! I just print out your recipe. I hope mine looks as good as yours. I always stop by cake shops when I'm in Japan. I even search cake shops listed in magazine.
Marilia says
Looks sooooo good. Wanna bite them. Hm... I think I have to make them for a start. Thanks for the recipe.
Marc Matsumoto says
Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!
Sam says
This looks so good! I'm gonna give it a try this weekend...Thanks for sharing your recipe!! =)
Emily says
I totally fell in love with Mont Blanc when I was in Japan recently - I hope you don't mind me linking to your recipe!
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks for your note. Sorry it was too sweet for you, was your chestnut
puree sweetened by any chance? The kind we get here in the US is just
chestnut (no cream or sugar added), but a friend sent me some French
chestnut cream a while back and I noticed that it was already sweetened.
As for the measures I'm going to start writing the weight measures in both
metric and imperial going forward.
Noirfire says
I just got out of the kitchen, finishing the Mont Blanc cake. It's really good but a little to sweet for my taste. I had a lot of green tea with my cake 😛
PS: Can you please write the quantities for us Europeans to?
Thanks 🙂
Thomas Abraham says
Seasonal spotlight: Chestnuts...
Thanks to Nat King Cole, most Americans associate chestnuts with Christmas. Up until I came to Japan for the first time, I did too. But in spite of the chestnuts=holiday season equation: I had never tasted a chestnut in my whole life. As far as I can t...
Tales from a Tokyo Kitchen says
Seasonal spotlight: Chestnuts...
Thanks to Nat King Cole, most Americans associate chestnuts with Christmas. Up until I came to Japan for the first time, I did too. But in spite of the chestnuts=holiday season equation: I had never tasted a chestnut in my whole life. As far as I can t...
Hannah says
I absolutely fell in love with Mont Blanc when I was in Japan a few years ago - the best one I had came from the department store underneath Kyoto station, and was topped with silver leaf (there was also one with gold leaf, but it was flavoured with alcohol, and I wanted one in its pure state).
So excited to have found a recipe here! Thank you! As soon as I've stopped traveling and have a kitchen at my fingertips again, I know what I'll be cooking...
Hannah says
I absolutely fell in love with Mont Blanc when I was in Japan a few years ago - the best one I had came from the department store underneath Kyoto station, and was topped with silver leaf (there was also one with gold leaf, but it was flavoured with alcohol, and I wanted one in its pure state).
So excited to have found a recipe here! Thank you! As soon as I've stopped traveling and have a kitchen at my fingertips again, I know what I'll be cooking...
Briana says
Thank you for the recipe! It looks amazing, and I've looked everywhere, and this is the only one that looks like it comes close! I look forward to making this when I leave Japan and can no longer get my hands on monburan.
Just a note- the Japanese word for bread is pan, yes, but it comes from the Portuguese, not the French. Not that it changes the pronunciation or anything.
Briana says
Thank you for the recipe! It looks amazing, and I've looked everywhere, and this is the only one that looks like it comes close! I look forward to making this when I leave Japan and can no longer get my hands on monburan.
Just a note- the Japanese word for bread is pan, yes, but it comes from the Portuguese, not the French. Not that it changes the pronunciation or anything.
Swee says
Hi,
Must it be canned chestnuts? We get roasted chestnuts as it is sold on the road or in supermarkets more often than in cans. Do I just .. em... blend them to get the puree ?
Thanks.
Swee says
Hi,
Must it be canned chestnuts? We get roasted chestnuts as it is sold on the road or in supermarkets more often than in cans. Do I just .. em... blend them to get the puree ?
Thanks.
Mel says
Probably one of my all time fav desserts because I LOVE chestnut puree. Perhaps it's because I used to always have chestnut cream cake for my birthday as a kid (it's a Cantonese thing...). I had many different versions of this dessert when I was in Tokyo and couldn't get enough. Keep up the great work 🙂
Mel says
Probably one of my all time fav desserts because I LOVE chestnut puree. Perhaps it's because I used to always have chestnut cream cake for my birthday as a kid (it's a Cantonese thing...). I had many different versions of this dessert when I was in Tokyo and couldn't get enough. Keep up the great work 🙂
Judy says
Dear god.
ThANK YOU.
i have been searching for two years.
THANK YOU.
drools all over the place* =D <-- ima kid so i am not creepy ^^
howtoeatacupcake says
Wow they look so yummy! When I saw the thumbnail, I thought they were Frosted Wheat cereal! Lol 😀
howtoeatacupcake says
Wow they look so yummy! When I saw the thumbnail, I thought they were Frosted Wheat cereal! Lol 😀
Sara says
These are adorable!
Sara says
These are adorable!
Marysol says
First time with a pastry bag? I don't believe you.
But the cake looks absolutely decadent.
Marysol says
First time with a pastry bag? I don't believe you.
But the cake looks absolutely decadent.
Lick My Spoon says
kudos, marc, these look fantastic and i'm not even a fan of chestnut...it must be residual sentiment from years of getting chestnut cream filled birthday cake from the chinatown bakeries when i was a kid. all i wanted was an ice cream cake from carvel full of chocolate crunchies.
We Are Never Full says
whoa. i give you credit for making your own chestnut puree. these look worth the sweat. gorgeous!
Lick My Spoon says
kudos, marc, these look fantastic and i'm not even a fan of chestnut...it must be residual sentiment from years of getting chestnut cream filled birthday cake from the chinatown bakeries when i was a kid. all i wanted was an ice cream cake from carvel full of chocolate crunchies.
We Are Never Full says
whoa. i give you credit for making your own chestnut puree. these look worth the sweat. gorgeous!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
Bravo, these look magnificent. I adore Mont Blanc and always order it from the cake shop. They look fantastic, just like from a cake shop (or better!) 😀
canarygirl says
I loved this post, Marc! It brings me back to my college days while studying Japanese. I always found it funny that "curry rice" was "karei raisu" and "coffee" was "cohee." Your cakes look just scrumptious, whatever their origin. 🙂 ps...I miss the Japanese language. I wish I could study it again.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
Bravo, these look magnificent. I adore Mont Blanc and always order it from the cake shop. They look fantastic, just like from a cake shop (or better!) 😀
Marc Matsumoto says
That's a good question. Honestly I don't know, although beef wasn't commonly used in Japan before the 1950's. In fact eating beef was prohibited before the late 19th century, so I suspect it may have some foreign influences.
Marc Matsumoto says
LOL I don't know if I'd describe Jinglish (or in this case Jrench), as utsukushi, but too each his own:-P
Marc Matsumoto says
It's not just food there either. The language is always changing and every time I go back I need to learn new words (thankfully I can usually figure it out because it's usually English that's been abbreviated and mispronounced).
canarygirl says
I loved this post, Marc! It brings me back to my college days while studying Japanese. I always found it funny that "curry rice" was "karei raisu" and "coffee" was "cohee." Your cakes look just scrumptious, whatever their origin. 🙂 ps...I miss the Japanese language. I wish I could study it again.
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks:-) Though I don't know if I'll ever be able to produce confections as beautiful as yours.
Marc Matsumoto says
Let us know what you think:-)
Peter says
I like the parallels and foods mutations you touched upon and I embrace it!
The dessert looks wonderful, you're being too hard on yourself.
Shari says
Thanks for the tip about using duck fat for pommes frites. I'll have to try that! Cheers!
Shari says
These look BOTH beautiful and delicious! Sounds like a lot of work but the finished product looks like it is worth the effort. Mmmmmmm,
Peter says
I like the parallels and foods mutations you touched upon and I embrace it!
The dessert looks wonderful, you're being too hard on yourself.
Jude says
Looks interesting and I like the makeup pics.
Is sukiyaki borrowed, too?
Shari says
Thanks for the tip about using duck fat for pommes frites. I'll have to try that! Cheers!
Shari says
These look BOTH beautiful and delicious! Sounds like a lot of work but the finished product looks like it is worth the effort. Mmmmmmm,
Shelby Ruttan says
This looks so great - I have never seen anything like it before! Thanks!
Jude says
Looks interesting and I like the makeup pics.
Is sukiyaki borrowed, too?
noble pig says
Very nice, I am extremely impressed Marc.
Shelby Ruttan says
This looks so great - I have never seen anything like it before! Thanks!
Heather says
One of my favorite parts of Japanese culture and cuisine is their affinity for outside influences, and how they're informed by their openmindedness.
The Mont Blanc (I still love repeating "Monburan" in my head) - utsukushi desu.
noble pig says
Very nice, I am extremely impressed Marc.
Heather says
One of my favorite parts of Japanese culture and cuisine is their affinity for outside influences, and how they're informed by their openmindedness.
The Mont Blanc (I still love repeating "Monburan" in my head) - utsukushi desu.
chef E says
Wow, what an intricate recipe...I would like to try that one day...
Thanks for visiting my site...I signed up to keep up, and I like your blogs, thanks!
Brooke says
This looks insanely good! I'm definitely trying this as my next dessert.
Peter G says
A very interesting post regarding "the journey of food" Marc. All very informative. I love this version of mont blanc...beautifully done!
Daily Spud says
That certainly looks like it was worth all of the effort! It's fascinating, too, how food from different countries gets adopted, adapted and assimilated - of course it's not unique to Japan (though by the sounds of it, they take it to quite a high level :).
Aran says
turned out excellent and you did a great job with the piping bag!
Colloquial Cook says
This is spooky! We share the same favourite dessert! Have you been to Paris's Angelina on the Rue de Rivoli? They make a serious Mont Blanc there 🙂 also Lady M's version is not bad at all, closer to home too 🙂
chef E says
Wow, what an intricate recipe...I would like to try that one day...
Thanks for visiting my site...I signed up to keep up, and I like your blogs, thanks!
The Duo Dishes says
*tear* Just had this for the first time in Paris at Cafe Angelina based on a friend's adamant suggestion. It was SO amazing! How wonderful that we stumbled upon yours! They look sooooooooooo good.
Brooke says
This looks insanely good! I'm definitely trying this as my next dessert.
Tartlette says
I just happen to have leftover chestnut puree...can't wait to give it a try!
Peter G says
A very interesting post regarding "the journey of food" Marc. All very informative. I love this version of mont blanc...beautifully done!
Daily Spud says
That certainly looks like it was worth all of the effort! It's fascinating, too, how food from different countries gets adopted, adapted and assimilated - of course it's not unique to Japan (though by the sounds of it, they take it to quite a high level :).
Aran says
turned out excellent and you did a great job with the piping bag!
Colloquial Cook says
This is spooky! We share the same favourite dessert! Have you been to Paris's Angelina on the Rue de Rivoli? They make a serious Mont Blanc there 🙂 also Lady M's version is not bad at all, closer to home too 🙂
Hayley says
For someone who doesn't do a lot of baking, these look absolutely gorgeous. I wish I had read this before I made a cheesecake for my friends birthday, looks like a need another excuse to make this.
ila says
yaaaaah! i was waiting for this!!!
can't wait to try out this recipe this weekend :
The Duo Dishes says
*tear* Just had this for the first time in Paris at Cafe Angelina based on a friend's adamant suggestion. It was SO amazing! How wonderful that we stumbled upon yours! They look sooooooooooo good.
Tartlette says
I just happen to have leftover chestnut puree...can't wait to give it a try!
Hayley says
For someone who doesn't do a lot of baking, these look absolutely gorgeous. I wish I had read this before I made a cheesecake for my friends birthday, looks like a need another excuse to make this.
ila says
yaaaaah! i was waiting for this!!!
can't wait to try out this recipe this weekend :